Nightshade for Warning by Bailey Cattrell

Author:Bailey Cattrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2017-04-10T16:48:17+00:00

CHAPTER 13

I CLIMBED the circular stairs to the loft. Spence had taken a few pictures up there, but seemed so ill at ease in my bedroom that it was almost funny. Now I opened the special cabinet under the window and removed the elaborate copper distiller Gamma had left me along with her garden journal. Carefully cupping my hands around the spherical water pot at the bottom, I carried it downstairs. The late-day light angled through the windows, reflecting off the bright, reddish metal that had been so carefully polished over the years, first by my grandmother, then my mother, then me.

Spence waited for me on the back porch and hurried to open the screen door when I started to push it with my foot.

“Wow. That looks like something from the Middle Ages,” he said, eyeing the elaborate contraption. “Can you show me how you use it?”

“Really? It’s not very exciting to watch.” For most people, at least. I found the process of transforming the energy of plant matter into its essence to be as powerful as any alchemy.

“Are you kidding? What you’ve told me so far is fascinating, and I want to see how that thing works.” He pointed at the alembic.

I smiled and glanced at my watch. I’d have to hurry. It was five thirty, and I was due to meet Polly in an hour to go see the Sontag property. But I hadn’t wanted to interrupt his photo session with more questions, so this might be the perfect chance to find out if Tanner Spence knew anything about plants.

“Okay, one quick demonstration coming up,” I said. “Would you mind grabbing the camp stove from that cubby over there?” I gestured with my chin.

“Of course,” he said, and turned to retrieve the one-burner stove. He followed me to the circular, graveled area at the back of the Enchanted Garden and set it down where I indicated.

“Give me just a sec,” I said, carefully leveling the burner and placing the alembic in the center.

However, camera in hand, Spence followed me as I got my cutting basket and shears from behind the shop and went out to the garden.

“I’m going to distill one of my favorite combinations,” I said. “Lavender and basil. Do you know what kind of lavender this is?” I asked, pointing at the mound of English lavender that was admittedly past its flowering prime.

He shook his head. “There’s more than one?”

“Yep. They smell very similar, however. This is Lavandula angustifolia.” I bent and began snipping off the drying blooms. They weren’t as fresh as they’d been a month before, but the buds still contained plenty of essential oil for my purpose.

“People think of lavender as being such a sweet fragrance when actually, it’s quite astringent. Basil, which is thought of as a savory herb, has a sweet, licorice-like scent. Together they perform a perfect balancing act.”

He obediently smelled the lavender flowers and basil leaves that I crushed together between my fingertips. “And that’s the basil?”

I stared at him.

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